Cats Know Each Other’s Names: Science Explores Feline Cognition

If you’ve ever had a cat ignore their own name (and who hasn’t?), you may be skeptical that they would bother to learn each other’s names, too. But a series of cat-focused studies carried out by a Japanese research team found that they do indeed know their own names, the names of other household cats, and even the names of their human family members.

Join us as we explore this fascinating research!

Do Cats Recognize Their Own Names?

This remains a hotly debated topic in the cat world, though most experts agree that cats do know their names. Although the relationship between dogs and humans has been studied extensively, the ability of cats to communicate with humans remains more of a mystery. Luckily, a few intrepid researchers have begun to dive into this fascinating area.

A 2013 study found that cats can recognize their owners based solely on hearing their voice. The study played the voices of the cats’ owners and complete strangers calling their names and recorded their response using cameras. The cats responded with “orienting behavior” (ear and head movement) rather than “communicative behavior” (tail movement and meowing), and 15 out of 20 cats responded less to the strangers’ voices.

An interesting side finding of this study is that cats respond to their names being called, even when it’s a stranger’s voice. This suggests that cats do indeed know their names, though whether they come running is another story entirely.

In 2019, the same researchers specifically studied whether cats know their names. They presented household cats and cats living in a café with lists of general nouns, the names of other cats, and their own names. All of the cats distinguished their names from the general nouns, and the household cats also distinguished their own names from the names of other cats in their home. As in the previous study, the cats were able to recognize their names even when spoken by a stranger, which suggests that they truly recognize the sound of their name, not just the tone or other contextual clues.

Do Cats Know Each Other’s Names, Too?

This brings us to the more recent study. Knowing their own names is one thing, but can cats really keep track of each other’s names, too?

The answer, according to a 2022 study by the same cat-focused research team, is yes! The study showed cats a series of images of familiar cats and humans, either paired with the correct name or an incorrect name. The researchers found that household cats spent longer looking at the monitor when the wrong name was paired with it. This is called the “expectancy violation effect,” a phenomenon where the unexpected (like an incorrect name) draws more attention than the expected (like the correct name).

Interestingly, this study also compared household cats to café cats. In this case, the café cats did not respond differently to being shown other cats paired with an incorrect name, suggesting that learning each other’s names is specific to cats living as household pets. The household cats also looked at the monitor longer when their human family members were shown with the incorrect name, suggesting that they know specific humans’ names, as well.

Try It Out on Your Own Cat

As research continues to develop, we can look forward to learning more about our lovable, complex feline friends. In the meantime, why not try your own version of this experiment on your household kitties? Let us know how it goes in the comments!